NZ229418A - Metal diagonal bracing connnector - Google Patents

Description

2'254 % NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 No.: Date: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION "METAL CONNECTORS FOR BUILDINGS" [ J yye SHIGEO GOYA, a citizen of Japan of 1-27, Kumoji, 3-chome, Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken, Japan and INAFUKU CONSTRUCTION CO LTD, a Japanese corporation of 617-192 Aza-aja, Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken, Japan . hereby declare the invention for which I / we pray that a patent may be granted to pne/us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - //>*/ O ;«y ^ ;?L- ;11'v ;- 1 - ;(followed by page la] ;r-7 JUL 1989* ^CCe!>5 METAL CONNECTORS FOR BUILDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to metal connectors, used bracings, rafters with king posts, rafters with knee bracings, lower chords, suspended posts or lower chords with knee bracings, king posts, etc., purlins with rafters, lower chords with king posts, suspended post sills with posts, or beams and posts etc., in wooden buildings.

[Description of the Related Art] There have been many methods of joints and connection in wood frame buildings. These all require fabrication at the construction site, resulting in disadvantages such as prolonged construction time.

Therefore, in recent years, use has been made of a wood frame construction method wherein the wood members and their connection methods are standardized, most of the fabrication of connections and joints is done in the shop, and these fabricated wood members are just left to be connected with the metal connectors at the construction site.

The metal connectors used in this wood frame construction require bolts to be passed through holes in the connectors and the wood members after alignment of the holes. Many bolts must be passed through and tightened so there has been considerable room for improvement in terms of efficiency of work at the construction site.

The inventor engaged in studies to solve the above problem and has developed various connectors, as disclosed^ to connect wood members, such as posts with diagonal in the following publications, 229418 2 work for the connection of the wood members is performed in the factory or other good working environment and connection at the construction site is made simple: Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 59-182501 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-217 850 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-181442 Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 61-62103 Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 61-62104 Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62-7 504 The connector shown in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 61-62104 can be used for connection of a column with an upper Portion of a diagonal bracing, while the connector used in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62-7 504 can be used for connection of a purlin with a rafter or a sill with a post.

The metal connector of the present invention has as its object the provision of a metal connector which enables all the necessary work for connection of the wood members to be performed at a factory or other good work environment and the connection to be performed at the construction site with simple work. The metal connector of the present invention has the following constitution in accordance with the location of use.

The metal connector used for the connection of a post with a diagonal bracing or a rafter with a king post features a backside which is to be fixed to the post, a pair of inserting parts formed at right angles to the two sides of the backside, and inserting slots for stop members in the pair of inserting parts.

The metal connector used for the connection of a rafter with a knee bracing, lower chord, or suspended post or a lower chord with a knee bracing or king post features a h ill backside is to be fixed to wood SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 229418 3 lower chords, etc., a supporting part with one side bent at a right angle to the backside, a bolt with one end fixed near the bent area of the supporting part and the other end protruding in the opposite direction of the supporting part, and several installation holes in the supporting part.

The metal connector used for the connection of a prulin with a rafter, a sill with a post, or a beam with a post features a cylindrical shape which enables the connector body to be inserted in a hole in the wood members, a plurality of through holes in the side part of the metal connector for accommodating bolts or pins, and a nut part on the end of the connector body.

Figs. 1 to 4 relate to a connector of a first embodiment used for connection of a post and a diagonal bracing etc., wherein Fig. 1 is a side view, Figs. 2 and 3 are views of an example of use of the connector for connection of a post with an upper portion of a diagonal bracing, and Fig. 4 is a view of an example of use of the connector for connection of a beam with a horizontal bracing. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a connector of a second embodiment.

Figs. 6 to 8 relate to a connector of a third embodiment used for connection of a post with a lower portion of a diagonal bracing, wherein Fig. 6 is a side view of the connector and Figs. 7 and 8 are views of the case of use of the connector for connection of a post with a lower portion of a diagonal bracing.

Figs. 9 to 12 relate to a connector of a fourth embodiment used for connection of a rafter with a knee bracing, lower chord, or suspended post or a lower chord with a knee bracing or king post, wherein Fig. 9 is an exploded, perspective view of the state prior to connection.,..., of a lower chord with a knee bracing or king post with ^ BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 22S418 4 use of the connector, Fig. 10 is a side view of the connector, Fig. 11 is a front view after connection, and Fig. 12 is a front view after connection of a rafter with a knee bracing or suspended post.

Figs. 13 to 15 relate to a connector of a fifth embodiment used for the connection of a rafter with a lower chord, wherein Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the state prior to connection with the use of the connector, Fig. 14 is a side view of the connector, and Fig. 15 is a front view after connection.

Figs. 16 to 20 relate to a connector of a sixth embodiment used for the connection of a purlin with a rafter or a king post with a lower chord, wherein Fig. 16 is a partial sectional front view of the connector. Fig. 17 is an exploded, perspective view of the state prior to connection of a prulin with a rafter with the use of the connector, Fig. 18 is a partial sectional view of the connection state, Fig. 19 is a partial sectional view of the connection state of a connector of a seventh embodiment, and Fig. 20 is a partial cutaway front view of the connector.

Figs. 21, 22 and 23 are a plan view, side view (Fig. 22 is a sectional view taken on line of Fig. 21) and partial perspective view of a building roof assembled with the connector of the embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In Figs. 1 to 4, referring to a connector of a first embodiment used for connection of a post with an upper portion of a diagonal bracing or a rafter with a king post, 101 is the backside of the connector which is made narrower than the width of the wood member, such as a post, on which the connector is fixed. There are nail holes 102 at 229418 and bottom of the backside 101. A plurality of bolt holes 103 are provided along its length. Reference numerals 104 are a pair of inserting parts which comprise the two ends of the backside bent at right angles to the backside parallel to each other. The inserting parts 104 are wider from the middle down. Also, engagement holes 106 for a stopper 105 comprised of wood etc. are provided at the top of these inserting parts 104. In addition, there are two elongated holes 107 on each of the inserting parts 104 which are curved forward along their length (opposite to the backside 101). Reference numerals 108 are nail holes which are located near the middle of the pair of the inserting parts 104.

The stopper 105 is tapered toward one end to make insertion into the inserting slot 106 easier and to prevent easy removal from the engagement hole 106. Reference numeral 109 is a stopper lock, which is inserted into the inserting slot 106 with the stopper 105 to fasten it securely to the engagement hole 106.

With the use of this connector, connection of a diagonal bracing 12 to a post 11 can be made as follow: First, a bolt 113 which has been inserted into the bolt hole 112 on the post 11 is passed through one of the three bolt holes 103 on the backside of the connector 101. The connector is then fixed on the post 11 by tightening the nut (not shown) and hammering in nails 114 through the nail holes 102 on the backside 101.

Then, the inserting parts 104 of the connector are inserted into saw kerfs 116 on the joint of the diagonal bracing 12, and through the elongated holes 107 located at the lower part of the inserting parts 104. At this point, the bolt 118 is passed through the upper end of the curved elongated holes 107, and the upper surface of the diagonal bracing 12 is slightly above the low end the of the inserting slot 106.

The stopper 10 5 and its lock 109 are then inser 229418 6 the inserting slot 106 which pushes the diagonal bracing 12 downward. This moves the position of the bolt 118 inserted across the joint of the diagonal bracing 12 in a downward direction on the elongated holes 107, which in turn pushes the diagonal bracing 12 down until its end is pressed into contact with the post 11. As a result the diagonal bracing 12 is tightened to the post 11. At this point, the position of the post 11 is corrected to be perpendicular to the sill.

However, after the diagonal bracing 12 is connected to the post 11, hammering in nails 119 through nail holes 108 on the inserting parts 104 can prevent cracking of joint. Also hammering in nails 120 from the side of the stopper 105 can prevent falling out of the stopper 105 from the inserting slot 106. An additional bolt hole 112 at a different height and on different sides of post 11 enables connection with the diagonal bracing 12 on the surface.

The connector of the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4 can also be used for connection of a beam connecting member 13 and a horizontal bracing member 14. In this case, connector is installed horizontally.

Also the connector of the first embodiment can also be used for connection between wood members such as a rafter with a beam or a rafter with a king post.

The two curved elongated holes 107 are provided on each inserting part, but the invention is not limited to this, i.e., one or three holes per inserting part 104 are also possible. Multiple curved elongated holes 107 with bolts 118 through each of them provides additional connection strength in a connecting part such as a diagonal bracing and horizontal bracing.

Also the elongated hole 107 can be any shape as long as the bolt 118 moves down from its upper portion when the stopper 105 is inserted into the inserting slot 106 and accomplishes connection of the diagonal bracing or horizontal bracing to the connecting member 11 of the post or beam. 225418 7 The connector of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 5 has the upper portion of the inserting part 104 formed narrower and has no nail hole 108.

In Figs. 6 through 8, 201 is the backside of the connector which is made narrower than the width of the post on which the connector is fixed. Several bolt holes 202 are provided along the length of the backside 201. Reference numerals 203 are a pair of inserting parts which comprise ends of the backside 201 bent at right angles to the backside 201 and parallel to each other. Reference numeral 204 is an inserting slot, which is located near the upper end of a pair of inserting parts 203. If necessary, this inserting slot 204 can be located at the upper end of the inserting part 203 of the lower part of the backside 201.

Reference numerals 205 are attaching plates which are extended from the lower part of the inserting parts 203 and bent at a right angle to the outside. Reference numeral 206 is a nail hole, which is located near the middle of the attaching plates 205. These plates 205 are to be placed on the upper surface of a sill 15 which is connected with a post 11.

With the use of this connector, a post 11 and the lower part of a diagonal bracing 12 can be connected as follows: First, a bolt 213 which has been inserted into the bolt hole 212 on the post 11 is passed through one of the bolt holes 202 on the connector 201 which is then fixed on the post 11 by tightening a nut (not shown).

The connection of a post 11 and the lower part of a diagonal bracing 12 is normally made at a joint part of the post and sill or beam, etc. Accordingly, the connector fixed on the post 11 is located on the upper part of the sill 15, and its attaching plates are to be in contact with the upper surface of the sill 15. At this point, hammering in nails 207 through the nail holes 206 can fix the connector on the sill 15.

Then, the inserting parts 203 are inserted/feito the^s^y 229418 8 kerf 215 on the joint of the diagonal bracing 12, and the bolt 217 as stopped is inserted into the inserting slots 204 on a pair of the inserting parts 203 which run across the saw kerf 215 of the joint. If a diagonal bracing 12 is too thick or the strength of the building is to be increased, as Fig. 8 shows, two bolts 217 can be inserted through the inserting slot 204.

In a connector of this third embodiment, one inserting slot 204 on an inserting part 203 should be enough. Also, as mentioned above, the location should preferably be near the upper end of the inserting parts 203. However, depending upon the thickness of a diagonal bracing 12 and a connecting angle, the inserting slots 204 should be located a little deeper or lower than the above.

Furthermore, fabrication of a post 11 and a diagonal bracing 12 should be done beforehand in a better working area such as a shop. In regard to a connector of the fourth embodiment used in the connection of a rafter with a knee bracing or suspended post or a lower chord with a knee bracing, king post, etc, the traditional method of connection has presented problems in the joint due to strong wind during typhoons, vibration, tension, compression, etc. during an earthquake or when heavy vehicles pass, which leads to breakage of the tenon or a falling off of clamps.

The connector of the fourth embodiment was designed to solve the above problem. In Figs. 9 to 12, 301 is the backside of the connector, which is made narrower than the width of the wood members, such as rafters, lower chords, etc., on which the connector is fixed. A plurality of nail holes 302 are provided along the length of the backside 301.

Reference numeral 303 is a supporting part with one side bent at a right angle to the backside 301. Reference numerals 3 04 are installation holes, three of which are provided on the top of the supporting part along its length at appropriate intervals. Reference numerals 305 are bolts, 229418 9 one end of each of which is fixed near the bent area of the backside 3 01 and the supporting part 303,numeral the threaded end protruding at a right angle to the backside 3 01 along the opposite direction of the supporting part 303. For the sake of strength, it is desirable to fix the bolts 305, as Fig 10 shows, so that the center line along the direction of the diameter of the bolt 3 05 will be aligned with the center line of the thickness of the supporting part 303. However, it does not matter much in practical use. Whether or not the bolts 305 are aligned with the center line of the supporting part 303.

With the use of this connector, connection of a knee bracing 17 and a king post 18 with a lower chord 16 can be done as follows: First, bolt holes 312 are provided at the center of the lower chord 16 along its length at the same intervals as the bolts 305. Also, a saw kerf 315 is provided on the center line of the side end part of the joint between a knee bracing 17 and a king post 18, and a piercing hole 316 is provided which runs across the saw kerf 315.

These wood members are fabricated in a good environment such as a shop.

Next, bolts 305 are inserted in the bolt holes 312 on the lower chord 16 from the top. The nuts 306 are tightened via square washers from the bottom. By so this, the connector is installed the supporting part 303 is placed on the center of the lower chord 16. Nails 307 may be hammered in through the nail holes 3 02 if necessary.

Then, the supporting parts 303 are inserted into the saw kerfs 315 of the king post 18 and the bolts 308 are inserted into the through holes 316 through the installation holes 304 on the supporting part 303 and the nuts (not shown) are tightened.

By this, the lower chord 16 and the king post 18 are connected with their center lines aligned. Next, the knee bracing 17 is connected with the sides of the king j 22&418 by the same method.

The deep saw kerfs 315 on the knee bracing 17 make it possible to rotate the knee bracing 17 around the bolt 308 as a pivot and to adjust the location of the knee bracing. When the other end of the knee bracing 17 is connected with the wood member.

Fig. 12 shows the connector of the fourth embodiment used for connection of a rafter 19 and a suspended post 20 knee bracing 17. In this case, a connector is installed with its backside 3 01 fixed to the lower surface of the rafter 19.

As for the number of bolts 305 for the above connector, it is possible to provide one or three or more according to the conditions of application or the size of the connectors. Also, as for the number of attaching holes 304, likewise it is possible to provide two or four or more.

The connector, as seen so far, makes possible a rigid connection between the wood members and provides a great strength to the connection which can resist strong winds during typhoons or vibration, tension, compression, etc. during earthquakes. Regarding a connector of the fifth embodiment used for the connection of a rafter with a lower chord etc., until now, connection of a rafter with a lower chord has required skilled work and much time since manual operation by skillful workers is needed. The joint has to be fabricated in correspondence to the angle of inclination of the rafter while carefully watching the correspondence many times at the construction site. Also, connection of the rafter with the lower chord has presented problems in strong winds during typhoons or vibration, tension, compression, etc., during earthquakes or when a heavy vehicle passes. This leads to looseness of the connection because the parts are connected by inserting the tenon, which has a small sectional area to the mortise and fixing them with only a bolt.

The connector of the fifth embodiment 229418 solve the above problem.

In Figs. 13 to 15, 401 is a backside of the connector, which is made narrower than the wood member of the rafter, lower chord, etc., on which the connector is to be fixed. Several nail holes 402 are provided along the length of the backside 401.

Reference numeral 403 is a supporting plate with one side of its backside bent at a right angle to the backside 401. The supporting plate 403 has been diagonally cut with one side facing downward. Reference numeral 404 is an installation hole into which the bolt 417, which will be mentioned later, is inserted. They are provided near the opposite corner of the backside 401 and supporting part 403. Reference numeral 405 is an elongated hole into which the bolt 418, which will be mentioned later, is inserted. The elongated hole 405 is provided on the perimeter of the circle centered around the installation hole 404, which is near the middle of the supporting plate 403. Accordingly, the interval between the center of the installation hole 404 and the center line of the elongated hole 405 is equal wherever its location.

Reference numeral 406 is a bolt, one end of which is fixed near the bend between the backside 401 and the supporting plate 403, the other end, its thread side, protruding at a right angle to the backside 401 in the opposite side of the supporting plate 403. Two bolts are provided. In order to fix the bolt 406 as Fig. 14 shows, alignment of the center line against the diameter of the bolt 406 with the center line along the length of thick part of the supporting plate 403 is desirable for the sake of strength. However, practical use, it matters little whether or not the center line of the bolt 406 and the center line of the supporting plate 403 are aligned. With the use of the connector of the fifth embodiment connection of the rafter 19 with the lower chord 16 can be done as follow^ First, bolt holes 412 are provided at the same 229418 12 intervals as the bolts 406 of the connector in the vertical direction on the center line along the length of the rafter 19. Also, the saw kerfs 418 are provided on the center line of the connection end of the lower chord 16 and two through holes 415, 416 which run across the saw kerfs 414 at the same interval as that of the installation hole 404 and the elongated hole 405.

Fabrication of these wood members is done in a good working environment such as a shop by machine fabrication.

Next, the bolts 406 of the connector are inserted into the bolt holes 412 of the rafter 19 from the bottom and the nuts 407 tightened through a square washer from the top of the rafter 19. Thus, the connector is installed so that the supporting plate 403 will be located on the center line of the rafter 19. Nails 408 are hammered in through the nail holes of the backside 401 if necessary.

After that, the supporting plate 403 is inserted into the saw kerf 414 of the lower chord 16, the bolt 417 is inserted into one of the through holes 415 through the installation hole 404 of the supporting plate 403 and a nut (not shown) is tightened. Next, a bolt 418 is inserted into the other through hole 416 through the elongated hole 405 of the supporting plate 403 and a nut (not shown) is tightened softly. Under this condition, the connecting angle between the rafter 19 and the lower chord 16 is adjusted by rotating the lower chord 16 around the pivot, the bolt 417 (The bolt 418 moves in the elongated hole 405), according to the inclination of the angle of the rafter 19. After this, the nut of the bolt 418 is firmly tightened. Thus, the rafter 19 is firmly connected with the lower chord 16 with an arbitrary connecting angle. To be able to adjust the connecting angle between the rafter 19 and the lower chord 16, many holes may be provided on the perimeter of the circle centered at the installation hole 404, instea elongated hole 405. However, it is difficult to 223418 13 continuously make minute adjustments with the above method.

Regarding the connector of the sixth embodiment used for connection of a purlin with a rafter, a lower chord with a king post or suspended post a sill with a post, a post with a beam the traditional method of connection of such wood members has presented problems strong winds during typhoons or vibration during earthquakes or when a heavy vehicle passes, because the two wood members are connected by inserting a tenon with a small section area to a mortise on the other wood member and the connection is strengthened with a wedge, which leads to looseness of the connection because of a break in the tenon or falling of the wedge.

Much time has also been required for fabrication of tenons mortises, wood stopper holes, etc.

The connector of the sixth embodiment is designed to solve the above problems.

In Figs. 16 to Fig. 20, 501 is a main body of the connector, which forms a cylinder. The shape of the horizontal section of the main body 501 is identical with the shape of the horizontal section of the hole 512 in the wood members, described later, such as a purlin 21, rafter 19, king post 18 (suspended post (not shown)), lower chord 16 and ridge beam (not shown), then it is possible to insert the connector to these holes 512.

Accordingly, if the horizontal section of the hole 512 on the wood member is square, the main body of the connector 501 can be a square rod. However, since the horizontal section of the hole 512 on the wood member is circular, which is easily made by a drill, it is preferable to make the main body circular too as mentioned in the above.

Reference numerals 502 are through holes provided near both ends of the main body of the connector 501, making a right angle to each other: Reference numeral 503 is an insert pin for fixing the connector, which is inserted to the through hole 502, and has serrations for stopping the slide around 14 2294 part. Also, a bolt can be used to fix the connector, though it takes more time in comparison with an inserting pin. Reference numeral 504 is a nut part, forming a female thread to which the bolt 505 fits.

The connector of the sixth embodiment can be used as follows.

When connecting a purlin 21 with a rafter 19, a hole 512 is provided in the slot 513 on the purlin 21 and a hole 512 on the upper surface of the rafter 19. A small hole 514 which runs across the hole 512 to the direction of its diameter is provided in correspondence to the through hole 502 on the connector for the purlin 21 and rafter 21. Those holes should be made beforehand in a good working environment such as shop.

Accordingly, when performing the connecting operation at the construction site, first the body of connector 501 is inserted with the nut part 504 on top, and the inserting pin 503 is inserted to the small hole 514 so that it goes through the through hole 502. Next, the purlin 21 is connected with the rafter 19 by inserting the connector, which protrudes from the surface of the rafter 19 to the hole 512 from the bottom. The inserting pin 503 is inserted into the small hole 514 on the rafter 19 so that it goes through the through hole 502. After that, the bolt 505 is inserted into the nut part 504 of the connector, and the bolt is fastened through the slot 513 from the upper part of the hole 512 on the purlin 21. By this operation, the upper part of the connector main body 501 is fixed to the purlin. 21, and the lower part to the rafter 19. Thus, the connector rigidly connects the purlin 21 with the rafter 19.

The inserting pin 503 is made to be a little larger than the small hole 514 and has a serration around the middle part, so that it will not fall off from the small hole 514.

When connecting a king post 18 (nnsM lower chord 16, as Fig. 19 shows, 229418 lower chord 16 are assembled so that the hole 512, provided from the bottom of the king post 18, is aligned with the hole 512 going through the lower chord 16. The connector is inserted into the hole 512 of the lower chord 16 from the bottom so that the nut part 504 goes to the bottom. Next, the inserting pin 503 is inserted into the through hole 502 through the respective small holes 514 on the king post 18 and the lower chord 16.

After that, the bolt 505 is inserted into the nut part 504 of the connector main body 501 and the bolt is fastened through the washer 515 from the bottom of the hold 512 on the lower chord 16.

By this operation, the upper part of the connector 501 is fixed to the king post 18, while the lower part is fixed to the lower chord 16. Thus, the connector rigidly connects the king post 18 with the lower chord 16.

As for insertion of the bolt 505 to the nut part 504 of the connector main body 501, one way is to insert it through the washer 513 installed in the hole 512, and another is to insert it through the washer 515. Either way may be chosen, depending upon the kind of connecting wood members, connection location, etc.

Fig 20. is a front view of connection of the seventh embodiment. This connector has the upper and lower through holes 502 facing the same direction.

The number of the through holes 502 is normally two as a whole, the upper and the lower, but can be increased depending upon the kind of connecting wood member, thickness of wood members, etc.

The connector, as seen so far, makes a rigid connection of wood members which can resist strong winds during typhoons or vibration during earthquakes.

Figs. 21, 22 and 23 show the assembled condition of a roof for a wood building with the above connectors , i.e., a connector of the first embodiment at part A, a connector of 229418 16 embodiment at part C, and a connector of the sixth embodiment at part D. 1. When the connectors are used for construction of a mitre roof structure for the Western style wooden building the crown height of the truss and rafter will be the same level. Therefore, the sub-board can be nailed directly to the trusses and rafters. This will considerably increase the strength of the roof structure. It will also serve as the horizontal bracing and will reduce the number of wood members required and will help save construction cost. 2. For construction of the top chord of roof structure for Japanese style wooden building, normally the sub-board is nailed on the rafter after it has been attached to the joist. In this case, the connector can also be used effectively to increase the strength of the roof structure and to reduce the cost. 3. When using the connector for the construction of the top chord of the roof framing of wooden building, the roof slope can be arranged in any desired angle. 4. When the connector is used, the preparation work on the joint of wood members can easily be made by simply cutting the joint with a saw and drilling the holes in it.

. When using the connectors, the top chord structure of roof framing can be easily assembled either at the shop or at the construction site without any difficulty. 6. The roof structure will be further reinforced against typhoon or earthquake by attaching the web-posts to the ridge beam with the connectors. % 17 229418 7. Spacing of the trusses of the top and bottom chords will be determined depending on the size of wood members. 8. The connector reduces wooden building construction cost while increasing the structural strength of the building. '•'tes-N"""- 228418

Claims (7)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A metal connector used for connecting wood members, such as a post and a diagonal bracing to each other, comprising a backside adapted to be connected to a post, a pair of inserting parts provided at both sides of said backside —protruding at right angles to said backside, inserting holes provided at upper portions of said inserting parts which are protruded beyond end faces of a diagonal bracing when said inserting parts are inserted into a joint of said diagonal bracing, elongated holes formed in said inserting parts, said holes being curved so that upper portions thereof are inclined downwards towards said backside and lower portions thereof are parallel to said backside, said elongated holes being passed by a bolt from the lateral side of said bracing after the inserting parts are inserted into said joint of said bracing, and a stopper adapted to be inserted into said inserting holes, said stopper when inserted into said inserting holes thrusting said end faces of said bracing to shift the bolt inserted from the lateral side of said bracing to the lower end of said elongated holes for pressedly securing said bracing to said post.

2. A metal connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stopper is tapered so that its upper side is inclined towards its distal end. / w "29 JANW92 228-118 19

3. A metal connector as claimed in claim 1 which is to be fixed on the rafter, lower chord or other wood members wherein the backside protrudes beyond the inserting parts at one end as a tip, with installation holes provided in said backside.

4. A metal connector as claimed in claim 3 wherein said installation holes extend from the top along the length of the backside.

5. A metal connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inserting holes are provided near the end opposite said tip and the elongated holes are located near the edge of the inserting parts remote from the backside.

6. A metal connector as claimed in claim 5, formed in a U-shape which enables insertion of the inserting parts into slots in wood members.

7. A metal connector as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS DAY O A.J. PARK & isuw PER AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS